Under pressure from local businessmen, Parliament wants to relax strict rules on sea protection and working conditions on fishing boats, often linked to human trafficking. The current law was passed in 2015 under pressure from the European Union, which threatened to ban local seafood products. But now, with industrial production in crisis, Thailand hopes to make up ground by “liberalizing” the sector.
Bangkok () – The Thai Parliament is preparing to examine several bills that would lead to a substantial revision of the laws governing the fishing industry. Many fear that the result could set employment conditions back many years in a sector where exploitation and violence against workers, especially foreigners, have frequently been strongly denounced. In that case, the repercussions on the country's image, which has been under observation for some time, could also be serious.
The changes proposed so far to the 2015 law – beyond the differences between the various parties – aim to overcome a situation that is considered too restrictive and unfavorable for businessmen and shipowners. Indeed, they propose the liberalization of fishing tools that are considered destructive such as trawl nets, the possibility of transshipping fish between high seas vessels, fewer restrictions on the capture of protected marine species and, finally, the reduction of the sanctions currently provided for clandestine or irregular fishing. In the latter case, economic sanctions could be reduced by up to 98%, while prison would be completely eliminated.
However, the new rules would not only put rare species or delicate marine ecosystems at risk, but would also return many thousands of workers to a situation of insecurity, leaving them once again exposed to inhumane working conditions and at the mercy of human traffickers.
“All political parties agree that the sanctions provided for by the current law are excessive. But amending it does not mean canceling everything,” said Woraphop Viriyaroj, MP for the progressive opposition party Move Forward and vice-president of the Commission dealing with amendments to the Fisheries Industry Law.
The current law was approved and promulgated after the military coup in May 2014, conditioned by the risk that Thai fishing, one of the most important in Asia, would be banned by the European Union and other international markets. Four years later, the law led to the removal of Thailand from the list of countries under observation, which had meant its inclusion in level 3 (the worst) of the list of countries involved in human trafficking. Precisely the improvement in working conditions at sea subsequently led Bangkok to rise to level 2 and then to 1 in this second ranking.
It is difficult to understand the current movements without attributing them to the pressures of the oligopolies that influence much of the Thai economy and that politics cannot ignore. It would seem that the objective is to use the sector as a buffer for the decline in industrial production and lower-than-expected income generated by tourism. However, the risk of repercussions is high. The Asian section of the Environmental Justice Foundation believes the drastic changes being considered could put 60% of fish exports, worth $3.3 billion a year, at risk of international sanctions.
